The debate over gun control in the U.S. is even more bitter and heated today than it was in the weeks immediately following the Dec. 14 slaughter of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut. In spite of President Barack Obama’s commitment to put an end to the senseless mayhem that now seems a constant in the American public arena, the outlook for radical change is far from good.

Gun sales have skyrocketed, as have shares in companies making guns.

The shelves at the front of mainstream bookstores like Barnes and Noble here are heavy with glossy gun magazines touting weapons of every description. The cover of one, the 2013 Buyer’s Guide, says in huge letters, “Concealed-carry guns, pocket pistols, over 200 guns!” In smaller type, it says, “Maximum Concealment, holsters and tactics.”

In a country with roughly 350 million guns in the hands of ordinary civilians, and more than 2,000 models available, there seems to be no way this deadly enemy of social harmony and peace can ever be brought under full control.

An estimated three million Americans own the type of assault weapon used in recent mass killings, the AR-15. Recently, Wayne Lapierre, executive vice-president of the National Rifle Association, was on cable TV arguing that because the government has this kind of gun, the general citizenry ought to have them, too. The government itself is viewed as a potential future enemy.

The airwaves are loud with pro-gun advocates who keep citing the Second Amendment like a mantra. If you argue with them that the antique wording itself — it speaks of “a well-regulated militia” etc. — shows it was not written with a modern, well-policed and fundamentally peaceful country like the U.S. today in mind, they quickly become angry.

Political satirist Bill Maher made this point when he suggested gun advocates should go on to read the Third Amendment to see the idiocy of being so fundamentalist about the second. The Third Amendment states, “No soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner prescribed by law.”

One of the most alarming things I found in discussing this issue widely with people here is the fear the government is plotting to take away their guns. When asked why they think it would do so, they cite past instances of tyranny in other countries where unarmed citizens were powerless to resist.

One ex-army friend, who owns eight guns, said it’s widely believed the Japanese did not invade America after Pearl Harbour because of their conviction American citizens were well-armed. He carries a gun under his car seat because he doesn’t want to be the “dead, good guy in any encounter.” Other friends and acquaintances here echo his sentiments.

Most of these are normal, good people. But they’re paranoid on the topic of guns.

When told the U.S. has an overwhelmingly higher number of gun deaths annually than any other developed country in the world, gun advocates reply it’s because there’s more gang warfare in U.S. cities than in other countries.

But a close friend, retired marine major Patrick McDermott from Iowa, says the notion that every adult here should possess or carry a weapon is insane. “Apart from police and the military, nobody should carry a gun,” he said in an interview. Nevertheless, other contacts here — some incidentally also ardent churchgoers — see no contradiction between their Christian beliefs and carrying a weapon.

Pray for Obama on this one.

— Tom Harpur is a bestselling author on spiritual and ethical issues. www.tomharpur.com